All of the data analysis and statistical estimation procedures required for calibration and characterisation of test performance are available in the R statistical package. R is free, open-source software used in myriad academic and business applications.

The subject of these tutorials is statistical methods used to characterise a test’s response-concentration relationship —an important part of POCT development. Many of these tutorials will apply to traditional plate-based assays as well, but future tutorials will build upon these procedures to cover special considerations for point-of-care tests.


  1. R software installation guide
  1. Data preparation: Background, Overview of the immunoassay data sets, O’Connell’s ELISA data, R’s gtools ELISA data

  2. Characterisation of response variance: Background, O’Connell data, R’s ELISA

  3. Curve-fitting: Background, O’Connell’s data, R’s ELISA

  4. Concentration estimation and precision statistics: Background, O’Connell’s data, R’s ELISA